


Four And A Half Minutes

by AsagiStilinski



Series: Pridecember 2019 [1]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Gen, Gen or Pre-Slash, M/M, Mid-Canon, Post-Battle City Arc, Pre-Slash, Pridecember, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-01
Updated: 2019-12-01
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:48:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21645523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AsagiStilinski/pseuds/AsagiStilinski
Summary: Overdone on work, Seto goes out to get a cup of coffee and decompress from being cooped up in his officeHe doesn't expect to see The Pharaoh sitting on a bench eating ice cream
Relationships: Kaiba Seto/Yami Yuugi
Series: Pridecember 2019 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1560421
Comments: 3
Kudos: 59





	Four And A Half Minutes

**Author's Note:**

> Day one of Pridecember, Pre-Raphelite, wich... I don't know what that means exactly but I've been told both that it means pre-Raphael from the Orichalicos arc and the art style, as I don't quite understand the art style, here you go

The amount of work was beyond overwelming

Seto never thought he'd actually miss the Big Five but in times like this, on days like these, he kind of did

Not that he missed their attitudes, but rather the amount of work they did

He was still trying to get new people to fill those vacant positions and until then the work they had left behind was all on his shoulders

He didn't think he could keep it up much longer

Frustrated, he finally stood up from his desk, glaring at the massive stacks of papperwork on his desk and the flood of untouched emails on his computer screen

He just couldn't handle it anymore, he needed a break

So he resolved to go get some coffee, instead of having an assistant do it for him, pushing away from his desk and hurrying out of the office, ignoring any calls or waves from his employees on his way out of the building

~+~

Seto was stalling

He was man enough to admit that

He didn't want to go back to the office yet, he didn't want to go back to work yet, he just want3ed to have a minute to himself and enjoy some coffee...

It was as he was walking silently down a back-street by the park that his resolve to spend time alone crumbled

"Is that... Yugi...?" he mumbled to himself, eyes narrowing as he spotted the familiar tri-colored hair

Ah, and he was wearing that stupid school uniform of his even though it was a Sunday...

Nose wrinkling, he found himself making his way to the park and heading towards the other man only moments later, sitting down on the bench next to him and only then noticing that this seemed to be the _other_ Yugi, or so Yugi liked to claim, "The Pharaoh", whatever weird ass second personality that the kid liked to split with, some supposed ancient spirit from Egypt trapped in the tacky gold pendant around his neck

Total garbage, ofcourse, but Seto was tired of arguing about it

"What are you doing out of your cage?"

Successfully getting the other man's attention, he stopped licking the ice cream cone he had in his hand, tongue still burried in the dark brown chocolate scoop on the cone as he turned his attention to Seto

"I'm.... sorry...?"

"Are you though?" Seto challenged

The other Yugi- _the Pharaoh_ \- didn't seem to understand

"You're _'The Pharaoh'_ , right? I thought you only came out when Yugi needed you, am I blind? Is there some duel or phantom threat here that I'm unaware of?"

"No," The Pharaoh replied simply, taking another lick of his ice cream and leaning back on the bench

"Yugi has... decided that I need to experience more of the outside world for myself, unclouded by the stress of battles and dueling, so we've decided that I'll appear at random intervals throughout the day to... experience things,"

By "we", it sounded suspiciously like The Pharaoh actually meant "he"

Made sense, Seto supposed, Yugi Muto seemed like exactly the kind of martyr who _would_ give his body to some ancient spirit just because the guy was trapped in a gold locket or whatever

"And?"

"...And...?"

"Are you enjoying it?"

The Pharaoh's lips twitched up and he took another lick

"I think so, but... it is a bit uncomfortable... I'm not used to this, I'm not sure I know how to be..... _quiet_.... how to just... exist without the threat of battle swinging over my head,"

Yeah.... Seto could relate to that

"Some people are more comfortable in chaos," he noted absently

"Yes, I believe so too," The Pharaoh agreed

For a moment, they sat in silence

The Pharaoh licked, Seto sipped, and a pigeon flew past

"Do you hate it?" Seto asked after a breif pause

"Hate... what..?"

"Not having your own body, don't get me wrong, I still think this hocus pocus nonsense about spirits and curses and whatnot is all utter bullshit, but.... say I believed you- wich I don't- but for argument's sake.... do you hate it?"

The Pharaoh was quiet, staring down at the half-eaten ice cream as he ran his tongue along the edge of the cone

"I.... experience mixed feelings about it,"

"Mixed feelings?"

"Yes, I do very much enjoy being with Yugi, I wouldn't want to be apart from him for anything in the entire world, but... I feel like... an _invader_ , of his body, of his personal space, of his mind.... I feel guilty for that,"

"Mm," Seto hummed back unhelpfully

"I don't want to intrude on his life,"

"Then what _do_ you want?"

"What.... do I want?" The Pharaoh asked in confusion

"Yes, all living creatures want _something_ , some want... a Lamborghini or.... a marriage, fame or fortune... others just want food, or water, or shelter, it doesn't matter what that thing is, all creatures want _something_ , even ants, so.... what do _you_ want, _Pharaoh_?"

The Pharaoh was quiet for a moment, smiling a little as he ran his tongue over the melting remains of ice cream once again

"Well, I suppose I want my memories back, and...."

He paused for a moment, staring down at a duck that had wandered up from the pond and started pecking at some bread crumbs that a child nearby was throwing

"I know it's uneventfull but.... I want _happiness_ ,"

Seto was quiet for a moment, sipping his coffee again

"It isn't uneventfull,"

Maybe Seto had just said too much but....

The Pharaoh's expression warmed and he smiled as he licked the ice cream again

"And you, Kaiba? What do you want?"

"Everything,"

That brought the man to pause, eyebrows raising as he stared at the brunette

" _Everything_?" he echoed, scoffing a little

"I was a pharaoh, but I do not believe even _I_ had _everything_ ,"

"Well that just means that I'm better than you, though we already established that,"

"Did we now? Well, if that's what you believe, I suppose no one can take that away from you,"

"Except for you," Seto grumbled back bitterly, his eyes narrowed as he stared out listlessly at the duck- who was now accompanied by several other ducks, all pecking for the breadcrumbs

"Are you going to ask me to duel again, Kaiba?" The Pharaoh asked tiredly

"....Not today, too much work, I don't have time to eat lunch, much less duel,"

"Ah... that's rather unfortunate,"

"Yeah,"

"I'm sorry to hear that,"

Seto shrugged, eyes averted

"I've had worse,"

"And better?"

Seto was quiet again, taking another sip of his coffee

"Yeah," he finally concluded

"I've had that too,"

By now the ice cream was gone, and The Pharaoh had started biting into his cone

"How long do you have before you must return to work?"

Seto checked the clock on his phone, nose wrinkling

He had a meeting in 35 minutes, it'd take ten to get back to the office and another ten to get his presentation gathered so with set-up time and the obligation of being a little early to show prowess against his opponents.....

"Five minutes," he replied

"Ah, then... would you be so kind as to fullfill a very selfish request of mine and spend those five minutes with me?"

Seto frowned, narrowing his eyes and glaring in annoyance at The Pharaoh

"What? Why?"

"Well, you're the only one of Yugi's freinds- _my_ freinds- who I've yet to really spend any time with outside of the battle arena,"

"Well there are two simple explanations for that Pharaoh," Seto mused easily

"Firstly- I'm not Yugi's freind, and secondly, I'm not _your_ freind either,"

The Pharaoh frowned, evidently not caring much for that fact as he sipped on his coffee again

"Indulge me, Kaiba, just this once, just for five minutes, and the next time you wish for us to duel, I will not protest- as long as no one's life is in danger, ofcourse,"

Now that.... that was a tempting offer....

"It's really more like four and a half minutes now,"

"Ok, then give me these next four and a half minutes, how is that?"

"And what do you want to do for four and a half minutes?" Seto asked suspiciously

"Just..... this," The Pharaoh replied with a shrug, biting into his cone

...

Huh

.....

Well, he supposed he could spare four and a half minutes....


End file.
